Škrilj, Kočevje Explained

Official Name:Škrilj
Pushpin Map:Slovenia
Pushpin Label Position:top
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Slovenia
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Slovenia
Subdivision Type1:Traditional region
Subdivision Name1:Lower Carniola
Subdivision Type2:Statistical region
Subdivision Name2:Southeast Slovenia
Subdivision Type3:Municipality
Subdivision Name3:Kočevje
Area Total Km2:2.49
Population As Of:2012
Population Total:0
Population Blank1 Title:Ethnicities
Population Blank2 Title:Religions
Coordinates:45.5349°N 14.9073°W
Elevation M:522
Footnotes:[1]

Škrilj (in Slovenian pronounced as /ˈʃkɾiːl/; in older sources also Dolenje Zdihovo,[2] German: Unterskrill[2] [3]) is a village in the Municipality of Kočevje in southern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region.[4] It no longer has any permanent residents.[1]

History

Škrilj was a Gottschee German village. The village was laid waste in an Ottoman raid in 1491. In 1942 the village was the site of a civilian refugee camp for people that had fled into the forests from Italian occupation forces. During the Second World War three houses in the village were destroyed in aerial bombardment, but the remaining 13 survived. The village was gradually abandoned after the war; in 1953 four houses were still inhabited.[5]

Church

The church in the village was a chapel of ease dedicated to the Holy Cross and it dated from the beginning of the 17th century.[5] The church stood at the top of a hill at the western edge of the village. It had a short rectangular nave and a narrow polygonal chancel walled on three sides. It was probably built in the first half of the 17th century. According to Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, the main altar was dedicated to the Holy Cross and the side altars to the Virgin Mary and Saint Margaret. After 1840 it became a vicariate to Zdihovo. The belfry was probably added at this time and a bell cast in 1844 was installed. The church still stood in 1950, but like many other churches in the region it was destroyed between 1953 and 1954. The church was also surrounded by a cemetery. Today only the threshold of the church and the remnants of a few gravestones remain.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.stat.si/krajevnaimena/default.asp?txtIme=%8AKRILJ&selNacin=celo&selTip=naselja&ID=1662 Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
  2. Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru, vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 38.
  3. Ferenc, Mitja. 2007. Nekdanji nemški jezikovni otok na kočevskem. Kočevje: Pokrajinski muzej, p. 4.
  4. http://www.obcinakocevje.si/ Kočevje municipal site
  5. Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 246.
  6. http://www.pmk-kocevje.si/media/pdf/sakralna_dediscina/29_skrilj.pdf Ferenc, Mitja. "Škrilj: Podružnična cerkev sv. Križa / Skrill: Filialkirche Hl. Kreuz"